Six
by aptasi
Summary: Appearances called for a deliberate miscalculation.


Summary: Appearances called for a deliberate miscalculation.

Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction writer. All hail the rightful owners.

Content Warning: Mild Violence.

* * *

"Keep your head down, Archie." The voice next to him whispered.

"I'm telling you. There's nothing here to take. It's just terrain and cemeteries. Really creepy if you ask me."

"Who said I would be taking anything?" The breeze rippled her serene hair. "Perhaps I just wanted to be seen here."

The minion muttered disjointedly. "Boss no one even knows what this place is."

"Exactly."

"I mean who ever heard of Quinn's Post, Boss, except maybe you and me?"

"People forget quickly…" She stretched out over the Monash Valley.

Archie sometimes wondered if Carmen was truly a thief, or just an actress intent on reenacting every good yarn she heard. Right now, a part of him half-believed he was talking to the ghost of a long-dead Australian solider. She had this otherworldly look in her eyes that belied the otherwise total lack of resemblance. The henchman swallowed. War memorials made people feel reflective. "I see them boss."

Carmen's head barely twitched. "Zack's there and… three guards, local I think. Two men and one woman. And… that's odd."

"What's odd?" Archie felt like cursing his poor night-vision.

"They're armed."

Archie frowned. "Thought you said Zack doesn't like guns."

Carmen took a deliberate breath. "Well he doesn't look very happy about it. I think they're arguing."

Knowing there was no point trying to see at a distance, Archie stared at his boss's face as they worked their way across the field hugging the ground. That would tell him everything he needed to know. For now, she looked calm and happy, as the concentration and vigor of the heist veiled her face. Azure eyes looked black and sparkled golden in the moonlight. All was well.

"They've seen me." Carmen whispered.

Then, gunshots rang out.

* * *

"We gotta tell her…" Moe said

Lars protested. "We don't gotta do anything."

"Boss's upset."

"She's just slicing onions." Lars protested, glancing around the corner.

Moe looked at the six-inch tall pile of minced vegetables. "A lot of onions." He said significantly.

"You really want to bother her about this while she's holding a knife?"

"You scared of her?"

"Course not?" Lars said with some bravado "You aren't are you?"

"No, I'm not scared of her!"

"Right. Me neither."

"Well then, chicken?"

"You're the chicken."

"Am not."

"Hey, it was your stupid idea."

"But you found that paper."

"My mistake."

"If boss doesn't get this," It took Moe considerable effort to make the mental leap. "We're both done for."

Lars sighed. "Some days I hate this job."

* * *

"Boss I thought we ought to talk to you about…" Lars tried to begin diplomatically.

"There is nothing to talk about…" With the current onion in transparent cubes she began on another, tossing the peels in the trash.

Moe inserted unhelpfully, if rather bravely. "But we gotta talk to you about last night."

Her eyes looked up sadly but completely dry, as the knife rapidly worked through the abrasive plant. "Did something unusual happen last night?"

"They shot at you." Lars supplied.

"They missed." Carmen deadpanned

Moe grinned.

"Hey!" The other man snapped. "This was your dumb idea!"

Carmen sighed and tossed a handful of onions into the pile. "Boys I appreciate that you want to help but there is nothing to see here. Gunfire is a standard risk in this line of business."

Unsure of what to say to get Carmen's cooperation, Moe opted to put his foot into his mouth. "You didn't see it coming. Maybe it happens again?"

Carmen's entire posture immediately switched to something altogether dangerous. "Are you questioning my leadership?" She hissed darkly.

"I err…" Moe stammered. "Boss I didn't mean that!"

"What if we are?" Lars butted in bravely. "You won't talk about it. What are we supposed to think?"

"The law enforcement party was arguing back and forth, and Zack was shaking his head. " Carmen half growled. " Then, Zack looked in my direction and said something to one of the guards. Seconds later we were taking fire, six shots. I escaped. Now are you happy enough to stop badgering me?" The knife clunked heavily against the wood of the cutting board.

"Not really…" Moe decided.

"They had every right to do what they did. It might be the right thing… No, it _is_ the right thing to do. " Carmen looked at the onions as though regretting having cut them. "I just did not expect that of Zack. That's all." She announced briskly. "I'd always thought that if one of them finally started obeying the brass on that order, it'd be Ivy."

Moe giggled.

"Think that's funny do you?" Carmen asked dully.

"I think what he means boss is that we've never seen you be wrong about something before."

The master thief admitted. "I suppose I may have… misjudged him."

"That's not what we meant." Moe blurted out.

Carmen glowered.

Lars pushed a sheet of paper towards her. "Boss you need to look at this."

Without even cleaning off her hand, Carmen grabbed at the file. "What?" she said quietly. "Who's Jenny Howard?"

"The female guard that you saw tonight."

All the tension in Carmen's mouth abruptly fell away. "She's a sharpshooter?"

"Specializes in Anne Oakley type targets, boss." Lars said. "Dimes tossed in the air, splitting playing cards in half. How many times did you say she missed you?"

For once, the master-thief actually looked subdued. "Six," she whispered.


End file.
